In
November 1939, when Finland was invaded by the Soviet Union,
no one expected that this tiny nation could resist the largest
military force in the world. And no one anticipated that 1939
would be one of the coldest winters in recorded history, what
historians have called a frozen hell.
Filmed
on the old battlefields of Finland and Russia, Fire and
Ice: The Winter War of Finland and Russia dramatically
depicts the intensity of the warfront and the homefront.
Outnumbered and outgunned, Finns knew this war was not about
changing the borders between nations; it was a total war for
the very existence of a people. The Winter War involved all of
Finland’s people - including its women who organized
themselves into a unique corps called Lotta Svärd. Their
fierce resistance changed the course of World War II and saved
a democracy. Fire and Ice: The Winter War of Finland and
Russia is a timeless story of courage against all odds,
of a people united to preserve their freedom. The film tells
the story through a mix of eyewitness accounts and diaries,
letters and dispatches from frontline participants. It
combines archive footage with stunning reenactments, including
high end special effects as well as computer generated
animation to provide a unique inside look and feel of the
wartime experience. Produced
and directed by Emmy award winning producer Ben Strout of
MastersWork Media, Fire
and Ice shows
how Finland’s
under-strength forces mobilized against the world’s largest
superpower and how the outcome changed the course of the
Second World War.
“Fire and Ice: The Winter War of Finland and Russia”, has been
shown at film festivals and Finnish cultural events including
Finn Grand Fest 2005 in Marquette, Michigan, the Heartland
Film Festival in Indiana, and for the Finnish American Society
in Dallas, Texas. "Fire and Ice" has now been
released to PBS stations around the U.S. Check your local PBS
affiliates for time and date of broadcast.
In
conjunction with the release, PBS edia has developed a website
and educational materials that meet standard curriculum
requirements. Additional information about the documentary is
available from the dedicated website www.fireandicemovie.com
. Information about author, William R. Trotter, interviewed in
the documentary and his definitive history A Frozen Hell:
The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-40 is also available
through www.fireandicemovie.com.
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